


Storge

by chibipooh



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Childhood, Gen, Half-Siblings, Implied/Referenced Character Death, POV Second Person, Sibling Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-07
Updated: 2015-07-07
Packaged: 2018-04-08 05:32:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4292610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chibipooh/pseuds/chibipooh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Not all people are worth dying for. But the ones who are...[2nd Person POV Story from the POV of Marx/Xander]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Storge

I. Father

You know something strange is going on Mother makes you put on your fancy shirt, the one with the ruffles that is too tight around the armpits and makes you itch all over. She won’t answer any of your questions about it, and when you ask as politely as you know how if you can play outside when this is done, all she does is smooth back your blonde curls, a small smile on her face.

What feels like hours later, long after Mother has given up on getting you to sit still, a large man strides into the room, his black cape billowing behind him like a thundercloud. Mother drops into a low curtsy, and you immediately bow, just like she taught you. The man’s eyes are small and dark and they stare at you just like the cook’s dogs do when you hold a piece of meat in front of their faces. You edge towards Mother’s skirt, wishing to bury your face in the comforting fabric, but she moves away.

The man places a surprisingly warm hand on your head and nods.

“He will make a good heir.”

Mother finally straightens up. You wonder how this man was allowed to come into her private quarters, your home, without her invitation. With one last glance your way, Mother takes the strange man’s outstretched hand, and they disappear into her room. A maid ushers you towards your next lesson, ignoring your questions and protests. You don’t see Mother again until the next day.

It’ll be years before you realize that was the day you met your father.

 

II. Camilla

Everyone has been on edge ever since that woman appeared at court, a purple haired child barely younger than you on her hip. You’ve watched Mother pace her room so often you’re surprised there aren’t grooves worn into the cold stone. Nurse and all the other servants give you pitying smiles when they walk by, smiles that don’t quite reach their eyes.

You don’t like this new woman too much. She wears way too much perfume, and when she addresses you (“Good day, little prince” or “How do you do today, little prince”) it’s always with a sing-songy lilt in her voice.

You like the little girl, Camilla, though. She almost reminds you of Mother, even though they look nothing alike. Camilla is a perfect lady in every way; she enters a room full of strangers and leaves it full of friends. She has certainly never stammered so hard she had to be sent to bed early.  The rare times she gets in trouble, all she has to do is give the accuser a wide smile and she’s free to go, often with an extra pastry tucked into her pocket. When you get in trouble, you get lectured for hours on “conducting yourself in a manner befitting your station.”

It’s not fair, but you’ve already begun to understand most things aren’t.

Father visits Mother less often now, which is fine by you. Mother smiles a lot more when he isn’t around.

 

III. Leon

If Camilla’s arrival at the castle was a splash, then Leon’s is a ripple, a single stone slipping almost unnoticed into a vast pond. You never see Leon’s mother and you never will, but no one can deny the resemblance between Father and this strange boy. The servants who have worked in the castle since Father’s father was a boy swear up and down that young Leon is the spitting image of Father when he was that age. They don’t say it out loud anymore, however, not since the first time when Mother overheard them and had them whipped.

Leon’s actual personality, you don’t know too well. He almost never leaves his bedroom, not matter what bribes you and Camilla offer to lure him out. Perhaps it’s for the best- playing with someone so much younger than you probably wouldn’t be that fun anyway.

However, sometimes when you sneak into the library after bedtime to stare up at the portraits of Nohrian kings of old that adorn its walls, you’ll find Leon there engrossed in books too difficult for even masters five times his age. The two of you will sit like that for hours, dwarfed by shadows of two different kinds, and you think maybe it won’t be so bad having a new little brother.

Father never visits you part of the castle anymore. When he needs you, he has a servant personally escort you to his rooms. Mother is always around, yet you never seem to catch her; sometimes days go by before you see her face. Maybe tomorrow you’ll go down to the garden with Camilla and Leon to pick her a bouquet. But not now- Father is calling and you mustn’t keep Father waiting.

 

IV. Kamui

When Father promises you a surprise from his most recent military expedition, the last thing you expected was a little girl.

Leon is immediately skeptical. “Her ears are so pointy,” he says in plain earshot of the child. “And her eyes are too red."

“I’m sure you wouldn’t like it if others picked on your pointy parts,” Camilla replies, the smile never leaving her face. She is the first to go over to the girl and introduce herself. You always suspected she wanted a sister.

When you hold out your arm in greeting, since you’re the oldest and must make a good impression, the girl swats you away, sticking out her tongue and bounding up the stairs to her new room two at a time. You can hear the others snicker behind you, and your cheeks burn crimson with shame.

After this first encounter, you don’t see the pointy-eared girl too often. Between horsemanship and penmanship, piano lessons and fencing, war councils and ethics lessons, you simply  don’t have time to frolic with this new child as you might have in the past.  

Still, you’ll catch sight of her every now and then when you’re at the the northern fortress. As small as she is, your newest sister is fearless, always eager for the next adventure, never caring when her dress gets ripped or when Nurse yells at her for tracking mud into her bedroom. The servants have dubbed her Kamui the Reckless, and news of her exploits are always enough to bring a smile to your face.

You make a note to yourself to bring an extra sword with you next time you go to visit the northern fortress. You’ve been looking for a new training partner, and Kamui the Reckless might be just the person you need.

 

You wish Mother- no matter what you wish. Mother isn’t here and Nohr has a new Queen now.

 

 

V. Elise

Elise’s birth is the only one of your siblings you are there to see. Crowding around the door to the birthing room, the four of you listen with mild horror to the sounds of labor. Her mother, a former serving girl who has become your Father’s newest favorite, looks up at you with tired but loving eyes when you walk in, a small bundle nestled in her arms.

“Her name is Elise. You can hold her if you like. Go on, she’s stronger than she looks.”

Despite the ordeal she just underwent, the woman’s voice is resilient in a way that makes your throat go tight. Now that you fully understand what it means when Father gives an unusual amount of attention to a female member of the court, you hope, pray, the same fate will not befall Elise’s mother as did all those who lost Father’s favor, the same fate that befell your own mother not that long ago.

Gingerly, you receive the newborn child, following the woman’s instructions on how to best support her head. Elise, your new baby sister, turns her eyes towards you and giggles. Your eyes go wide.

 

For the first time in a long time, you understand what the stories mean when they speak of unconditional love

 

“I wanna hold her too! I wanna hold her too! C’mon, I want a turn!” yells Kamui excitedly, breaking the trance. Camilla laughs and tells Kamui to keep her voice down, but you can see in the way she fidgets how badly she wants a turn as well. Even normally taciturn Leon is awestruck, touching the gauzy fabric surrounding your new sibling with the reverence one usually reserves for a holy text.

The loving moment is cut short when Father walks into the room, his once massive stride now shrunken with age. You are holding Elise again, and when Father gestures for you to hand her to him, your are struck with the sudden urge to scream. But the urge vanishes, and you, always the obedient son, ever the dutiful heir, pass her over. The bile at the back of your throat stings.

You wonder what Mother would think of you now.

 

VI. Marx

The years have been kind to you, or at least, as kind as anything can be in this unforgiving climate you call home. The obsidian circlet your Father gifted you so long ago no longer feels cold against your skin. You have a legacy that stretches back through the ages, soldiers who would put their lives on the line to defend you and you them, and a chance to change this world you love for the better.

You may not have Mother anymore, but you have a family whom you love more than the word could ever convey.

You are Marx, the crown prince of Nohr, and as you grip your sword prepared to fight for those you love, this is enough. It will always be enough.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

(But that's not enough to make her choose you over them.)

**Author's Note:**

> Fates isn't out in the U.S. for another 6 months and i'm already in love with it. Here's hoping the localization team does all the characters justice. As always, I hope you enjoyed reading and feel free to leave a comment!


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